What is nursing? At first I always thought it was just about helping people, which is one of the main reasons I wanted to become a nurse. But as I went through the nursing program and participated in clinical rotations, I saw that things went much deeper. My personal nursing philosophy has evolved and changed to what it is today, which is that a nurse must possess these characteristics; compassion, knowledge, balance, critical thinking and patient advocacy. I believe these are the traits that make a well-rounded nurse capable of working in whatever field she chooses. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayWhen my father had to have back surgery for a pinched sciatic nerve, I was a complete mess because I feared he would never be able to get him to walk properly again due to the pain. That he wouldn't be able to go back to work and do the things he loves because of his pain. While we were in the hospital preparing for the surgery, the nurse who was with us preparing my father for the surgery could sense my discomfort. He had asked me what I was worried about and once I told him, he explained how he understands my point of view, but that it's a common procedure and everything should work fine. He also gave some advice to my father to do when he felt pain and what types of exercises would benefit him after the surgery. That's when I discovered that nurses' job is not just to take care of patients, but also the patients' family. She sensed my discomfort and helped me talk about my feelings about the surgery my father had to undergo. Being a nurse you must be able to notice the non-verbal signs of the patient and his family members. It's a special characteristic that allows nurses to be good and deal with any problem they face, that's why it's part of my nursing philosophy. Coming from a Brazilian family means our food is definitely not the healthiest around. Our diet consists mainly of rice, beans and meat and plenty of food for each family member. As a child my diet consisted mostly of carbs and red meat. As I finished nursing school, I learned how important it is to have a healthy, balanced diet and lifestyle. As this can help reduce the risk of many health disorders I learned about in school. I'm trying to teach my parents how to maintain a healthy and balanced diet so that they can improve their body and mind. My mother is much more accepting of this new routine, while my father is a little more difficult. He still wants to add more sugar to his drinks and a lot more salt to his food, but he is a very active man at his job and at home, so I am trying to convince him to decrease it little by little. I plan to educate my parents more on how eating healthy and having a healthy lifestyle will benefit them in the future. Being in many different hospitals, I got to see different and dynamic working environments. I've seen terrible work environments where nurses don't even seem to want to be there let alone want to help patients. There are other work environments where nurses are amazing and have a wonderful relationship with each other, but a strained relationship with doctors. Then there was a work environment where the nurses help each other and respect each other, but they also have the respect of the doctors and have a wonderful working relationship. That's the kind of environment I'm in.